Utah Mighty Five refers to the five national parks in the state of Utah. They are Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonland, Capitol Reef and Zion. I was fortunate to visit four out of the five during my recent America mid west trip, and posted about Bryce Canyon National Park here. Today I'll be taking you to Zion National Parks.
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is Utah oldest national park and is famous for it's thousand feet deep canyons. I have a feeling it didn't get the best and full experience from Zion as I didn't do any hikes here. I hear that's where you see the best scenery. That said, what I did see was still pretty amazing.
From the moment we passed the park entrance sign, we were zig zagging along the road down to the bottom of the canyon. This part of the drive was an experience in itself.
It took us over an hour to reach the visitor car park where we would catch the shuttle bus to do the scenic drive in the park to Zion Canyon. In the summer, vehicles aren't allowed to drive along the main scenic drive road, and visitors have to catch the shuttle bus which runs frequently. This makes sense as the road isn't very wide and there are many cyclists who cycle the 7.5 miles scenic drive.
The scenic drive on the shuttle bus passes through various stops and visitors can get off to do hikes. These hikes seems to be the highlight of the park and apparently offers some amazing views of the canyon. Unfortunately, I didn't do any hikes this time, and just had to be content with what's available along the scenic drive that runs alongside the Virgin River. To be honest, it wasn't half bad.
Court of the Patriachs
My first stop off the bus is the Court of the Patriachs. Three big peaks welcome visitors as they arrive, they're called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and were named after the biblical figures by a minister in 1916. I strolled over and caught my first look of the Virgin River. It was so beautiful and calm here.
Lunch at Zion Lodge
We had lunch at one of the main stops on the scenic drive called Zion Lodge. Apart from camping and RV, this is the only place you can stay inside the canyon. Being a Sunday, and mother's day, it was quite busy. I grabbed a hotdog and sat on the grass facing the canyon. What a relaxing view and a great place for a picnic.
Temple of Sinawava
After lunch I continued with the scenic drive bus ride to the end stop Temple of Sinawava. It's a short walk to the Virgin River, and had time and energy permitted, I would have love to do the 2 mile return hike into the canyon to a point called the Narrows. I heard the trail gets to a point where there's no bank to walk on. And from here, hikers have to walk in the Virgin River to get to the Narrows. When I first got on the bus in the morning, the bus driver announced that it wasn't possible to do that today due to the recent flash floods. Just as well for me and my group because the sun was incredibly hot and we didn't particularly fancy walking.
Like many other visitors, we loitered by the river bank. Had it not been forbidden, I would have loved to take off my boots and wade in the river. I know Snowpea would have loved that. Instead, I crouched down carefully by the bank and immersed both my hands in the river, it was sooooo nice. The icy cold water was running through my fingers, and within a couple of minutes, my hands were icy cold and I was starting to cool down.
Finally, it was time to leave Zion Park. We caught the shuttle bus back down towards the visitor centre and car park. I read online that the Zion Human History Musuem which was the stop just before the visitor centre, was worth visiting. I decided to get off here to take a look. Bad decision. First, it was ok, I wouldn't miss much if I didn't come here. Second, we were all a bit tired and hot and wasn't really in the mood for it. And third, when we tried to get back on the shuttle bus, they were all full. We waited for 3 buses and still couldn't get on. In the end we decided to walk the one mile back to the visitor centre. A mile isn't long and normally it wouldn't be a problem, but it was still scorching hot and the walk was fully exposed under the sun. I was almost melting when I got back to the visitor centre.
Next time, I'll be sharing my travels to the other two of Utah Mighty 5 national park. Hope you'll be joining me then
You can checkout all my travel post on the Pinmapple here or click on Mr Pinmapple below
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It is really difficult to travel in hot weather. Everyone needs to have high energy to travel and have fun. Waiting for the bus is boring. But I think it is a very beautiful park. Big and impressive.
I wasn't very well prepared for the hot weather, that's definitely didn't help. Other than that, it was a lovely visit
Very nice! I was just watching the Aerial America episode about Utah when I was on the treadmill this morning. Like I said in my past comment, I never really realized just how much Utah had to offer. That's cool that you can just hop off and on any bus you want (as long as they aren't full)
It turns out most of the best bits was in Utah, the parks and the scenery were all amazing. The hop on and off buses were very good in deed. There's less traffic and makes it much easier for visitors. It was just bad timing for us when we wanted to leave, like every one else
Very interesting!
Impressive.
I love it, and it has a similarity with the Roman mines of the Médulas in Spain for the reddish tone of the plumes.
!PIZZA
The photos doesn't really do it justice, it was lovely on site
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Stunning place, great scenery. A shame it was so hit and you couldn’t get in on the shuttle busses. I would have walked too after a while. Probably regretted it with the heat.
Have a wonderful evening 👋🏻😊
Luckily it was only a mile walk, but it did seem a very very long one
I can imagine… 🥵
Beautiful site/sights and pictures you took there.🤩 the sun must feel dehydrating, the only salvage in this situation would be to use an umbrella.
I didn't get even have a hat, luckily my sister had a spare one I could wear. An umbrella would have been nice but I seldom carry one with me even when it's raining!!
It looks so beautiful here and reminds me of those old cowboy movies lol. We all know that gloomy and dusty weather.
My favorite is the penultimate photo. You captured an amazingly beautiful view.
I went through quite a lot of cowboy towns during my trip, certainly quite an eye opener
I will join you certainly in your next travel. You did a nice job in your photos. I Iove the virgin river and the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. @klassicmyk
Glad you enjoyed the virtual trip
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I have the feeling I am/will be connected with this amazing place in a special way 😁
Oops, melting on the sun... I imagine how poor Snowpea could feel with that scorching heat.
Mmm... I wonder how 😁
I’m glad you enjoyed your time here in Utah. Good thing you didn’t visit Zions in August. It is way hotter during that time.
The heat and the traffic! I imagine it will be so busy during peak season. There was a bit of queue entering the park, particularly Arches, and we're just at the beginning of the season. Plus,some of the popular viewpoint car parks were full.
You're so lucky to have all this on your doorstep
The photos are the prove of the hotness. Because they are a little bit yellow.
Thanks
You continue to show us beauty! Beautiful and exotic landscape, great images that allow us to walk through it together with you. Thanks for sharing and surprising us 🤗.
Utah has incredible landscapes. I haven't been to Zion, but i've seen it from another park up north, Cedar Breaks.
The 15 freeway follows the Virgin river from the lowlands in Nevada, through the canyon in Arizona, up into Utah. It's a stunning drive on a narrow highway with cliffs hundreds of feet high.
Looking forward to the rest of your Utah series!
There I go, with the cyclists. But I keep a hot dog in my backpack. It's 12 km, nah, that's not much.
River banks are the solution for our walks in hot weather. When we lie down on the grass, the grass on the ground gives us a very nice feeling as it refreshes us with the coolness of the shade.
The park, which includes steep cliffs, canyons, rivers and long walking paths, looks quite beautiful.
I would love to visit this park. The white clouds visible between the rocks seem to be saying, "Look at me, don't I look beautiful?" :)
Utah seems like a whole new vibe to me. Basically hard to compare with anything else on this planet.
Your trip through Utah's national parks sounds adventurous! Even if you didn't get to hike Zion National Park, you still had a breathtaking experience along the parkway and enjoyed some of the park's highlights. Your description of the Court of the Patriachs and the Temple of Sinawava brings the landscape to life and makes me want to explore these places too🙏🏻
Yay Beautiful Zion.. Last time I went was during Covid. One great thing about COVID is the national parks were practically empty and they added the shuttle buses since then. Too bad it was so crowded that you had to walk. Southern Utah is hot! Like Arizona :)
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